Decision Time

I have been reading this book by Leo Tolstoy called “The Kingdom of God is Within You.” I have only made it through the first 30 pages because it has brought me to a place that demands a decision. I have to stare the ideas that have been put before me in the face and decide what I will do with them. I don’t take these decisions lightly and I mull them over for periods of time before they are either discarded or acclimated to my worldview.

Tolstoy looks at the world through the eyes of non-resistance. It’s a non-violent approach to life and to Christianity. I’ve heard people speak against war and in favor of forgiveness but this is something different. Maybe I haven’t heard them yet because I haven’t lived long enough, or perhaps it’s because they are rarely spoken.

Tolstoy is the man who would say that Christ demands that our forgiveness reach outside the confines of our culture to an expression that brings the Kingdom of God to earth. In the common and accepted expression of our times it would go something like this; you stole my money so I’ll have you tried by a jury of your peers and locked away. While you are incarcerated I will work towards an inner forgiveness of your offenses against me and I will pray that you find forgiveness from God. Happens everyday right? But what if it went more like this; you stole money from me-I forgive you.

People wrong us. They hurt those that we love and they take the things that we have worked hard for. How should we respond as followers of Christ? Having someone arrested and locked up is just the norm. It’s what we do here in America when someone does something wrong. If you end up in jail then you got there because you did something to deserve it. If we bomb your country it’s because you bombed ours first. Even Christians can support that right?

It’s really amazing me how incompatible these widely accepted ideas are with the Gospel of Christ. Loving your enemies, turning the other cheek, casting the first stone and the list goes on. I know there are some examples that would support our current ideas in the Old Testament but what about under the New Law? The law of grace where you come as you are? How has this blatant contradiction escaped the church’s attention and even my attention as a devout Christian? I almost think it may not be present because it is never introduced! Maybe embracing total love and forgiveness just costs too much. Is it just too hard to care about a stranger as much we do our own loved ones? Of course I naturally care more about my sister than I do the man who might try to attack her on her way to her car. Would I lock that man up to keep my sister from harm? What if I loved them both equally and saw them both as children of God?

What did Christ mean by forgiving those who trespass against us?

So here I am again at this wall. Do I climb over to start a new life on the other side? I could always turn around and forget that I ever saw it. Either way, a decision has to be made.